Stock Photo Site Helps You Stop Image Theft

Theresa Stone

It’s very easy for someone to take images that are on the Internet and use them without paying for them. Sometimes it’s deliberate theft; sometimes it’s honest ignorance. But whatever the motivation behind the misuse, it’s been difficult for content owners to take advantage of the protection afforded by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Now the stock photography company Dreamstime has added a feature that helps its contributors call foul on such theft by notifying owners of websites on which the illegal images appear that they’re violating the DMCA. Mere notification won’t step hardened thieves, of course, but it will educate the ignorant and prompt them to fix their mistake by removing the photo.
The notification process goes like this: If you find an image used without the proper license, you go to the new Report misusage page (accessible from Dreamstime’s Management Area) site and enter the image identification number, the necessary license, and the address of the offending website.
In a message board post, the Dreamstime staff spells out a few more details and some caveats to keep in mind.